Insulating slab



June 27, 1931i K w.L.Mn LE R I 1,915,611-

INSUIQATNG4 SLAB Filed June 14, 1930 I?.v Sheets-Sheet 2 Figs) i u n iraient@ .ame a?. ieee. t

Nrrs WILLIAM LOTT MILLER, F WINONA, MINNESOTA INSULATING SLABApplication led .Tune 14,

My invention relates to insulating slabs and particularly to suchstructuresV as are adapted' to be installed'w-ithin a wall, partition orother structure to be insulated;

An object of the invention resides in providing an insulating slab whichmay be placed on edge and which may be constructed with a body formed ofa loosely packed fibrous material such as mineral wool or any Y0 type oforganic ibrous material.

Another object of the invention resides in f preventing the body of theslab from settling or otherwise moving when installed on edge so as toprevent the formation of an unfilled space at the upper end of thebody.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a keeperfor engaging portions of the body of the slab to hold the saine intact.V

A feature of the invention resides in constructing said keeper with asupporting member having means thereon for engaging the body at variousseparate-localities for preventing relative movement of the portions of715 'the body so engaged.`

An object of the invention resides in constructing said'member planiformand in disposing the same parallel to one of the surfaces of the slab.

Another object ofthe invention resides in providing said member withprongs issuing outwardly therefrom and extending into the fibers of thebody. i

A still further object of the invention resides in imbedding the keeperwithin material of the body of the slabwv A feature of the inventionresides inI disposing said prongs on both sides of said planiform memberto more effectively engage the material of said body.

An object of the invention resides in constructing said prongs so thatthe same will resist movement of various portions of the body of saidslab in one'directiona Another object of the invention resides inconstructing said prongs so that the same will resist movement of thevarious portions of the body of the slab in several directions.

A`still further object of the invention resdcs in constructing saidmember in the'folm v and illustrating an embodiment of my inven- 1930.Serial No. 461,231.

of a supporting sheet and in providing prongs issuing outwardlytherefrom,v `some of said prongs being able to resist stresses in onedirection and other of said prongs being able to resist stresses inanother direction.

A feature of the invention resides in providing a wall along which saidbody extends and in arranging said prongs so as to extend toward saidwall, said prongs falling short of said wall.

An object of the inventionoresides in providing a case for said bodyhaving spaced parallel walls, and in arranging within said body prongsextending toward both of'said walls, said prongs falling short of bothof said walls.

uAnother object of the invention resides in completely imbedding theprongs. and the lupporting structure therefore within sald ody.

Other 'objects of the invention reside in the novel combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterillustrated and/or described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an insulating slab with portions thereofcut away to show the interior construction of said slab tion. 30 Fig. 2is a perspective view of the lkeeper used with the form of the inventionshown in Fig. 1 and drawn to a larger scale'than that employed in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is an enlarged crossy sectional v1ew taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another form of keeper.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. -6 is a perspective'view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating amodification ofthe invention.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of still another form of keeper similar tothat shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view similar to Fig.I 3 and showing anotherform of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view simllar to Fig. 8 and showing themethod of applying 100 the prongs lto the structure illustrated in Figs.and 11 are cross sectional views similar to Fig. 5 and illustratingmodied forms of keepers, g

In the insulation of refrigerators, refrigerating rooms and varioustypes of buildings, it has been customary to construct the walls andpartitions of such structures with inner and outer sheathing and indisposing between such sheathing insulating material of some sort orother. A convenient method has been to construct the insulating materialin the form of slabs and to insert these slabs into the space betweenthe sheathing of the walls or the partitions during the construction ofthe same. In the construction of such slabs it has been attempted toemploy a case of some suitable material and to dispose within said casea body formed of some suitableorganic fibrous substance. Suchconstruction,

f however, has been found to be highly imtrated as contained within acase indicated' practical due to the fact that some of the slabs areplaced on. end and settling of the material forming the body of suchslabs would leave a vacant space at the upper end of the slab devoid ofinsulating material. Such uninsulated space within the slabs greatlycuts down the efficiency of the insulation and renders such constructionpractically useless for the desired purpose. The present inventionprovides a construction whereby. such settling of the body of the slabis prevented so that complete insulation is had throughout the entireextent of the slab.

In the form of the invention shown` in the drawings, the insulated slabhas been illus- -in its entirety at 15. In instances where the slab isconstructed at the locality where the refrigerator or other wall to beinsulated is being constructed, this case may be dispensed with and theinsulated slab disposed directly in between `th`e sheathing of the wall.However, Where the slab is built at one ylocality a-nd the refrigeratoror wall wherein the same is used is at another locality, the case 15 ishighly preferable, and for this reason, all of the forms of theinvention are shown as contained within such-a case.' The case 15 ispreferably constructed from a strip of cardboard or other suitablematerial 16 which is of a widthl equal tothe thickness of the slab to be,formed and which is bent in a rectangle as best shown in Fig. 1 toextend about the four edgesof the finished slab. In the construction ofthe slab this strip is disposed about a suitable form and a sheet ofpaperor other suitable material such as in'V dicated at 17 placed along-one edge of the strlp 16 and folded over and attached to said strip asby gluing, stapling, or, otherwise. The body of the slab which isindicated at 18 1s next placed within the interior of the case l5 andthe same closed through another sheet of the strip 16 andsecured to thesame. this manner the body 18 is completely concealed along all surfacesthereof and the shape thereof retained within the strip 16 and thesheets of paper 17 and 19 overlying the' same. If desired, the strip 16and the body 18 may be wrapped in a single sheet of paper folded aboutthe same and secured in place by any suitable means. Y

In conjunction with the body 18, I employ a keeper 20 a portion of whichis shown in detail in Fig. 2.- This -keeper may be constructed ofcertain types of paper which may be readily punched and bent to givesulicient rigidity to serve `the desired purpose. In the formation ofthe keeper 20, the stock or sheet of paper from which. the same isconstructed is punched to form two series of prongs 21 and 22 whichextend outwardly ,of paper 19 which is laid over the other ed eV fromthe sheet in opposite directions therefrom. In use, the keeper 20visimbedded within the interior of the body 18 of they sheet from which thekeeper 2O is formed is severed along two parallel lines 23 and 24 andalongl a diagonal line connecting these parallel lines so that the twoprongs 21 and 22 extend outwardly from the same opening. By means ofthis construction the prongs may be more closely situated relative toone another than where one prong is struck out from each hole. In'theconstruction of the prongs in this manner, it will be noted that eachprong is formed with an edge 25 at right angles `to the surface. of thesheet and with an edge 26 inclining relative thereto. When the prongsengage into the body 18 of'the slab, the edges 25 operate moreeffectively to pregvent the shifting of the material from which landother of said prongs resist the shifting of said body in otherdirections. When the slab is properly constructed with the keeper 20imbedded Within Athe same, said slab may be placed on edge and some ofthe prongs thereof will have their edges 25 operating to restrainshifting of the body 18 with respect to the case 15. This is trueregardless of what edge of the slab the same is made to rest upon sincethe prongs are arranged alternately to present the perpendicular edgethereof either in an upward or downward direction or in a righthand orleft hand direction and to either side of the sheet." If desired, the4keeper 20 ico may be constructed of metal or any other suitablesubstance from which prongs such as astrip 16'. An amount of fibrousmaterial sufticient to vform one-half of the thickness of the body 18 isthen laid within said case and upon the sheet 17. The lkeeper 20 is nextplaced upon the sheet and pressed into the same suiiiciently to causethe various'prongs 21 issuing outwardly therefrom to enter into saidbody and'become firmly lodged therein. Another amount of fibrousmaterial indicated at 28 and sutHcient-to form the other half of thebody 18 isthereafter placed upon the keeper 20 and the same pressed intothe prongs 21 issuing outwardly from the other side of said keeper. Thecase is then closed through the sheet 19 which is glued or otherwisesecured to the strip 16. The slab is then complete and can be shippedand handled Without danger of the .body thereof being shifted andwithout danger of the same set- Itling when installed into the structurein which the slab is to be ued. Where au extra thick slab is desired orwhere further support is required than possible with the struc-l tureshown in Fig. 1, several keepers such as shown may be employed anddistributed in spaced parallel formation -in lthe slab with layers `ofthe insulating material 'therebetween. By means ofA this constructionslabs of any thicknessor any proportions may be constructed.

.In Fig. 4, I have shown another form of keeper which is indicated Iinits entirety at 29 which may be used in place of the keeper 20 shown inFig. 2. This keeper consists of a sheet of paper or cardboard 30 whichhas attached to it at various localities covering the entire surface. of4said sheet a number of wire staples 31 and 32. These staples may beattached to the sheet as shownin Fig. 5 and are provided with offsetportions 33 which hold said staples'irmly' secured to the sheet. It canreadily be comprehended that these staples are most capable ofresistingv pressure applied in a plane containing the legs 34 and 35thereof. For this reason some of the staples, namely those indirated at32. are arranged to extend in one direction While the other staplesindicated at 31 are arranged to ,extend in a direction at right anglesthereto.

. such as indicated in Fig. 1, the slab may be Furthermore some of eachof the staples eX- tend through the sheet in opposite directions so thatthere are staples on both sides of the sheet extending in twodirections. -Then the keeper 29 is used in conjunction with a'slabplaced on any of the edges thereof and the various staples 31 and 32yserveto hold the body of the slab in proper position the same as theprongs 21 and 22 of the form of keeper shown in Fig. 2.

If desired, thestaples used in conjunctionl with the keeper 29 may besecured to the therefrom.

paper by the forming of the offsets, in the opposite direction from thatshown in Fig. 5

as Iillustrated in Fig. 10. In this form of the construction brings theprotruding ends` 39 and 40 closer to one another than the ends 36 and 37of the other structure, otherwise the keeper shown in Fig. 10 operatesidentically the same as that shown in Fig. 5.

lVhere a fairly'stit heavy paper is used, the staples may be attached tothe same Without the use of the ofs'etfportions such as indi-y cated at33 or 38 to ilinch the staples in place. Fig. 11 shows a structurehaving the staples so attached. In this figure the paper or sheet towhich the staples are attachedis designated at 41. and the staples areindicated at 42. The staples are partially held in place throughfrictionalengagement with the sheet 41 lwhile the pressure of the bodyof the slab against the staples furtherv assists in hold# ing thestaples in 'place and prevents the fibrous material from beingdisengaged In Fig. 7, I haveshown a of keeper which may be constructedfrom paper or sheet metal and Iin which the prongs issuing outwardlytherefrom which are designated at 43 may be constructed somewhatdifferently thanthe prongs 21 and 22 of the form of the invention shownin'Fig. '2. In the construction of these prongs, one prong is struck outfrom each opening in the sheet and said prong is tormed triangular andis bent along a medial line 44 to provide two lportions 45 and 46issuing outwardly yfrom the sheet at right angles to the sheet. Theseportions of the prong are capable of resisting stresses in twodirections so that one of the prongs 43 takes the place of two of theprongs 21'shown inthe other form of the invention. rl `he Various prongs43 are :lternately disposed upon the opposite sides of the sheet toprovide means for engaging the body on both sides of the sheet and saidprongs are also arranged in inverted order so as to resist strainseither in an up and down or in aleft and right hand direction. Y

Where the slab is designed for a particular installation in which thesame is at all times to remain in a given vertical position', it 'is notnecessary to provide prongs for resisting stresses in more than onedirection.

A slab 'particularly adapted to such use is different fo'iml` keepersuch as shown in conjunction with the device illustrated in Fig. 1, anumber of vertical strips 49 are employed which are im-4 bedded withinthe body 48 and are spaced from one another. These strips have attachedlto them staples 50 and 51 which extend through said strips in oppositedirections. These staples may be attached to said strips as shown inFigs. 5,10 or 11. In the drawings, said staples have been illustrated asattached to-'the strips by themethod shown yin Fig. 11 due to the factthat-*where the and rear surfaces of the slab.- These with or similar tothe case 15, and a body' 53 is employed of fibrous lmaterial similar tothe body 18. Within this body may bc disposed a keeper indicated at '54which may be constructed of a sheet such as shown 1n illustrated at 49in Fig. 6. The prongs used with this form of the invention consist vofpins 55 which extend through the sheet or strips forming the supportingstructure for the keeper 54 and fall short of both the front pms maybeinserted into the slab after the sheet or strips constituting thesupporting structure-for the keeper 54 has been placed within s. the fslab the 'same This 'is accomplished Aby compressing the surface of thebody 53 as indicated at 56 in Fig. 9 which upon being releasedimmediately springs V,to its normal shapend completely encloses thevarious pins. The pins 55 may be inserted before the.

52 has been applied to the same as illustrated in Fig. 9 .or.said pinsmay be caused to outer sheet 57 of the case penetrate said sheet of thecase to be applied to the device after has been completely encased.

' Where a relatively firm and rigid material i's -used for the sheetsupporting the pins 55said pins may be attached to the sheet before thesame is imbedded in the slab.

Although I have shown-but one form of case for encasing the slab, it canreadily be comprehended that any suitable box structure vfor holdingthe4 same in place may be employed or that the slabwithoutcase may bedirectly placed into the compartment in which it is to be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. It can also be readily'comprehended that other forms' of v eepers ,and different typesofyprongs may' be employed all within the 'scope .of the invention. Itis also not absolutely necessary "5 slab so long as to have-the keeperparallel to the walls .of the the supports carried thereby 4 at 30 or anumber of strips such as of said body at are distributed about thematerial constituting the body of the slab, and the supporting structureof the keeper need not necessarily be confined to-a plane or singlesurface but may .be zig-zagged or corrugated or may be formed ofindividual strips'arranged in angular or 'parallel relation to oneanother.

My invention is highly meritorious in that an extremely simple andefectivestructure is provided whereby insulating slabs maybe constructedof fibrous material at considerable less expense than where constructedof other substances. Settlin or shifting of the material from which theody of the slab is constructed lis completely prevented. The keepersused with the invention may constructed the body of the slab in one ormore keepers can be constructed at a nominal cost and operate in apositive and effective manner. The prongs may-be applied to one or bothof the sheets forming the side walls of the case for the slab or thesame may be mounted on a separate sheet or strips imbedded within thebody of the slab proper. In the construction of the invention the prongsare arranged so as to extend only partially through the body of the slabthereby preventing conductance of heat from one to preventshifting ofsurface of the slabfto the other through the Y agency of said prongs andfurther preventing sweating. j l

Changes In the specific form of the invention, as herein disclosed, maybe made within the scope of' what is claimed without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and Patent is:

1.- An insulating slab comprising a body formed of a loosely packedfibrous material,

a supporting sheet parallel4 to one of the sur- I faces of said body,prongs issuing outwardly from said sheet for independently supportingportions of said body at various localities when said slab is placed ononeedge, and other prongs .issuing outwardly from said sheet forindependently supporting Vportions various localities when said body isarranged on another edge.

2. An insulating slab comprising a body formed of a looselypacked-fibrous material,

a supporting sheet imbedded within said body and parallel to yone of thesurfaces thereof, and prongs issuing outwardly from said sheet fromopposite sides thereof to engage said body at various localitiestherein.

3. An insulating slab comprising a case formed with spaced parallelWalls, a body of loosely packed fibrous material disposed bevtween saidWalls, a supportin sheet disposed within said body and spaced grom saidWalls, said sheet having prongs Aissuing outwardly therefrom andentering into said body, said desire `to protect by Letters prongsfalling short of all of the walls of said case.

4. An insulating slab comprising a' body formed of a loosely packedfibrous material, a supporting sheet parallel to one of the surfaces ofsaid body, a plurality of prongs issuing from said sheet, bendablerelative to said sheet in one direction and rigid with respect theretoin the opposite direction, and a plurality of other prongs bendable withrespect to said sheet in the direction in Which said first named prongsare rigid and rigid With respect to said sheet in the direction in Whichsaid first named prongs are bendable.

5. An insulating slab comprising a body formed of a loosely packedfibrous material, a supporting sheet parallel to one of the surfaces ofsaid body, prongs struck out from said sheet and bendable along parallellines,

' 20 other prongs struck out from said sheet and bendable along otherlines lying at right angles to the first named lines.

6. An insulating slab comprising a body formed of a loosely packedfibrous material,

a supporting sheet parallel to one of the surfaces of said body, aplurality of staples having the prongs thereof extending through saidsheet with the connecting portions therev of lying parallel to oneanother and a plurality of other staples having the prongs thereofextending through the sheet and the connecting portions thereof extendinat right angles to the connecting portions of said first named staples;

7. An insulating slab comprising a body formed of a loosely packedfibrous material, a supporting sheet parallel to one of the surfaces ofsaid body, said sheet being constructed of cardboard and having prongsstruck out from said sheet and bendable along parallel lines, otherprongs struck out from said sheet and bendable along other lines lyingat right angles to the first named lines.

8. An insulating slab comprising a case, a body Withi-n said case formedof a loosely packed fibrous material, a readily bendable supportingsheet having rigidity in any direction in the plane thereof, andimbedded Within the fibrous material, and prongs struck out ofsaid-sheet and extending from both sides of the sheet, said prongs beingrigid in one direction to lend support to the fibrous material, some ofsaid prongs on each side of the sheet being arranged to lend support tothe body when the slab rests upon one edge and other of said prongs onboth sides of the sheet being arranged to lend support to the body Whenthe slab rests upon another edge, said prongs all falling short of thesides of the case.

9. A slab of insulating material comprising a case, a body Within saidcase formed of aloosely packed fibrous material, a supporting sheetimbedded Within the fibrous material, members carried by said sheet andextending toward the side Walls of said case for preventing slidingmovement of the fibrous material on both sides of the sheet and alongthe sheet in any direction, said sheet and members being Wholly freefrom the side Walls of said case and being carried by the body offibrous material.

10. A slab of insulating material comprising a supporting sheet, a bodyof fibrous material arranged in two parts, one on each side of saidsupporting sheet, means on said supporting sheet issuing outwardly fromthe surfaces thereof for restraining movement of both parts of the bodyin the plane of said sheet and in any direction, and a case envelopingsaid body, said case having sides overlying the parts of the body andends connected to the sides and operating in conjunction therewith torestrain movement of the parts of the body away from said sheet and tohold the parts of the body in contact with the restraining means on thesheet.

11. A slab of insulating material comprising a supporting sheet, a bodyof fibrous material overlying said supporting sheet, means on saidsupport-ing sheet issuing outwardly from the surface thereof on whichsaid body is disposed and entering into said body for 105 restrainingmovement of said body in the plane of the sheet and in any direction anda case including a sheet overlying said body and further includingmarginal portions bent from said sheet and overlying the edges of thesl-ab, said marginal portions being substantially immovable relative tosaid first named sheet and serving to hold the body in engagement withthe restraining means thereon.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature. y

` WILLIAM LOTT MILLER.

